Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's new budget blueprint request for the Department of Energy sustains its pivotal role in energy and national security policy – a trend that is reflected in expected DOE's investment in New Mexico. 

While the overall federal budget is slated for significant deficit reductions in the president's new budget request for fiscal year 2013, the DOE portion of the budget would grow by 3.4 percent over FY 2012.  U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman said DOE investments in New Mexico would remain at their approximate current levels of $4.4 billion.

Bingaman is chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which has principal responsibility for the DOE.  Bingaman will call the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, to testify on DOE's budget before the Committee on Thursday, February 16.

"This budget blueprint maintains a strong commitment to energy security, to U.S. technological competitiveness in the energy markets of the future, and to leading the effort on global nuclear nonproliferation, despite the tough fiscal environment we find ourselves in," Bingaman said. 

"I believe it lays out a solid plan for sustaining our nation's energy future, boosting our economic growth and competitiveness in the world, and addressing the worldwide threats posed by dangerous nuclear and radiological materials," he said. 

The president's budget request would result in about $4.4 billion of spending from all DOE programs in New Mexico in FY 2013, roughly the same amount voted by Congress for DOE in New Mexico in FY 2012. 

In the defense area, the two New Mexico laboratories will share a budget for Nuclear Weapons Activities that is roughly even with the current fiscal year overall.  Within this budget category, there are increases and decreases, including:

• a 20 percent jump in funding for Directed Stockpile Work, which is proposed to increase to a combined total of $1.196 billion from the FY 2012 level of $998 million; and
• a 13 percent increase in the Engineering Campaign within Weapons Activities, which increases to a New Mexico total of $111.4 million from the FY 2012 level of $98.7 million).

The new budget request also contains a 19 percent increase over FY 2012 levels for Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development activities at the two New Mexico laboratories.  Funding for this R&D will increase by 18 percent, to a combined total of nearly $217 million, offsetting a decline in activity at the labs related specifically to nonproliferation programs with Russia, due to the planned completion and transition of these programs to Russia in FY 2012.

Bingaman pointed out that the budget plan contains no funding for LANL's proposed, new Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Lab.  The administration said it can continue to rely on the existing building, possibly with some modifications.

"For years we have been told the CMRR nuclear facility was necessary.  Now we're being told there may be alternatives.  I look forward to hearing more from the administration about this change in plans," Bingaman said.  

The president's plan also contains funding for the following:

Waste Isolation Pilot Project

The overall request in FY 2013 for WIPP is $198 million, which is below the fy12 level of $213 million; however, the funds to operate the WIPP are slated to increase $18 million from $135 million to $153 million

LANL cleanup

The request is up $51 million from $188 million to $239 million, and will allow LANL to aggressively pursue cleanup in accordance with the consent order with the state.  The increase includes an extra $36 million to expedite the removal of above ground TRU waste and an extra $13 million to meet milestones on soil and water remediation.

Construction projects:

LANL:

• Continue TRU waste facility construction $24 million

• TA-55 Reinvestment Project phase II $8.9 million

Sandia:

• Test Capabilities Revitalization $11.3 million

Beyond the traditional nuclear security missions of the New Mexico laboratories, the FY 2013 DOE Budget Request has flat or slightly declining budget levels for non-defense DOE work at the laboratories, which is a matter of concern for Bingaman. 

"The long-term health of the national laboratories in New Mexico is dependent on maintaining broad-based excellence in energy as well as defense areas.  There seems to be a continuing trend by DOE civilian programs to look to other DOE laboratories as they increase their programs.  I plan to encourage Secretary Chu to see if there are institutional barriers between the NNSA and the rest of the DOE that are contributing to this trend, and I will encourage him to keep the crucial balance between civilian and defense missions at these laboratories in mind as plans for the current and next fiscal year go forward."